Belt tightening means for engine units



1,1949. E. H. ENSlNGEl I 2,458,575

BELT TIGHTENING MEANS FOR ENGINE UNITS Filed Dec. 11, 1944 U 1N1 'ENIOR. EARL HENSINGER y I fia a W spaced plate guides 4 comprising largely mere angle plates and between which the base 5 of the motor 3 is adapted to slide. The motor is equipped with the drive shaft 6 adapted to be connected by a driving pulley 'I to a driven pulley 8 on the driven shaft 9 of a conveyor unit, and an ordinary belt ID will be employed for connecting said pulley. The driven shaft 9 of the machine or conveyor unit is adapted to be connected by a suitable sprocket and the chain I I, as seen in Figure 1, with the conveyor roll shafts, not shown, about which the conveyor belt of the portable conveyor to which my invention is especially adapted, passes. On'the frame member I, between the shaft 9 and the motor 3, is located a. manually operable shaft I2 mounted in suitable bearings I3 on the part I, and said shaft is provided with an upwardly extending crank arm I4 at the outer end of which is provided the hand lever I5. An arm I6 is attached by means of a nut-held adjustable threaded shank I! to the end portion of the conveyor frame I adjacent the hopper 2. Said arm IB pivotally supports the pivoted latch I8 provided with the looking notch I9 and the adjacent holding notch 20.

Extending from the crank shaft I2 intermediate the bearings I3 thereof is an approximately vertical arm 2I, and this arm passes through an opening in a plate or arm 22 which extends inwardly and from the engine or motor unit 3.

The arm 22 is an actuating arm for effecting movement of the motor or engine unit 3 and with the above construction of parts of my improvement set forth I will now describe the operation thereof in actual use.

It is contemplated, especially in cold weather, that the engine 3, which is small and portable, shall be carried in the cab of the truck, usually a coal truck, in conjunction with which the coal conveyor unit of my described construction will be employed. Describing ordinary usage, when the truck is ready to be unloaded for, delivering coal to a suitable site or into the window of a coal storage place or cellar, the conveyor unit, including the frame I, its hopper, and the endless belt conveyor employed in conjunction therewith will be removed from the truck and placed in position so that the hopper 2 is beneath the delivery chute of the truck. Thereafter the engine 3 is taken out of the cab of the truck and placed in position on the frame member I similar to the arrangement in Figures 1, 2 and 3. The lever I5 of the crank shaft I2 is then manipulated so that the actuating arm 23 on the shaft I2 will be caused to enter the opening in 1 the arm 22, somewhat after the manner shown in Figure 2, wherein the lever I5 has been pulled so as to pull the engine 3 toward the hopper 2 of the conveyor into the position illustrated in the last mentioned figure. The latch I8 has its notch I9 now engaged with the crank arm I4 of the shaft I2 and the engine is thus positively locked with the parts arranged substantiall as in Figure 2 of the drawing. The belt I0 may now be placed over the pulleys 8 and 'I and will of course be slack, as illustrated in dotted lines of Figure 2, so that the operator may readily start the engine 3 by using a pull cord, crank, or any other suitable starting means depending on the type of engine used. The engine 3 having been started and being in operation, the operator will now grasp the lever I5 and pull outwardly thereon or in a direction away from the hopper 2, thereby causing the engine 3 to slide in such direction under the manual force ap Ii i.

plied to said lever I5, and due to the fact that the actuating arm 23 of the shaft I2 bears against the member 22 for the above purpose. When the lever I5 has been pulled outwardly in the manner shown, the belt ID will become tightened, and the driving action of the driving pulley I operated by the engine shaft 6 will be transmitted to the driven pulley 8 and will thus cause the conveyor operated from the shaft 9 to move for the delivery action of the conveyor belt, not illustrated.

For all practical purposes therefore, it will be seen that by the operation of the manual means I 5 and its associated parts these means are really employed as instrumentalities for efiecting driving connection between the engine 3 and the machine unit employed in conjunction with such engine, whether such unit is a conveyor or some other type of operating machine. In other words, I do not wish to be limited necessarily to the employment of my mechanism in conjunction with coal or other types of conveyors because the principle of operation of my invention is equally adapted to many different types of machines in conjunction with which an engine may be utilized for transmitting driving forces to the particular type of machine.

Of course, when the engine has been utilized for discharging the load of coal or other material by means of the conveyor unit to which I have referred, it will be apparent that the lever I5 may be manipulated to the position illustrated in Figure 3 and the engine 3 then readily detached from the guide 4 and removed from the machine unit in conjunction with which it has been employed.

The purpose in providing the notch 20 is to enable the crank arm I4 to be held by the latch I8 in a position maintaining the engine against movement with the belt II] under tension or tight for providing the driving connection between the pulleys 8 and I.

By employing the threaded shank IT for the arm I6 that supports the latch I8, this arm may be adjusted slightly in positions at limits in opposite directions, and thereby correspondingly effect a suitable adjustment of the latch I8 for its cooperative engagement with the crank arm I4 of the shaft I2.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In combination, a machine unit, guide means thereon, an engine comprising a base removably engageable with said guide means so as to be displaced from the machine unit and including a driving pulley, an operable arm carried by the engine, an operating device on the machine unit including a shaft, a lever to turn said shaft, a moving arm on the shaft detachably interlocked to the said operable arm to move the engine when the lever is actuated, holding means detachably engageable with the shaft to hold the engine stationary in the guides, a pulley on the machine unit, and a belt to connect said pulleys.

2. In combination, a machine unit, guide means thereon, an engine comprising a base removably engageable with said guide means so as to be displaced from the machine unit, and including a driving pulley, an operable arm carried by the engine, an operating device on the machine unit including a crank shaft, a lever to turn said shaft, a-moving arm on the shaft detachably interlocked to the said operable arm to move the engine when the lever is actuated, latch means detachably engageable with the crank of said shaft to hold the engine stationary in the guides in a belt loose position and otherwise engageable with the crank aforesaid to hold the engine in belt tightening position, a pulley on the machine unit, and a belt to connect said pulleys.

3. In combination, a machine unit, guide means thereon, an engine comprising a base removably engageable with said guide means so as to be displaced from the machine unit, and including a driving pulley, an operable arm carried by the engine, an operating device on the machine unit including a shaft, a lever to turn said shaft, a moving arm on the shaft detachably interlocked to the said operable arm to move the engine when the lever is actuated, said shaft having a crank separate from the moving arm thereof, a swinging latch on the machine unit having a part to engage the crank to hold the engine positioned in a belt loosening position, and having another part engageable with the crank to hold the engine in a belt tightening position, a pulley on the machine unit, and a belt toconnect said pulleys.

4. In combination, a machine unit, guide means thereon, an engine comprising a base having an actuating arm thereon constructed to freely slide into and out of positions within the guide means. an operating device for manually moving the engine base slidably in the guides and equipped with an arm having quickly detachable interlocking connection with said actuating arm on the engine base to permit the latter to be displaced from the guides and taken off of the machine unit, and holding means for maintaining the engine base against movement While temporarily positioned in the guides, a driving pulley on the engine, a driven pulley on the machine unit, and a removable belt connecting the pulleys.

5. The combination set forth in claim 4, in which the holding means is a manually operable latch pivoted to the machine unit and has separate latching parts usable independently to connect with the engine in either of two positions, and an adjustable member on the machine unit to support the said latch.

6. In combination, a machine unit, driven mechanism mounted thereon, a readily removable engine on said unit, mounting means on the unit for removably and movably supporting the engine in place thereon, detachable means for drivingly interconnecting the engine to the driven mechanism when the engine is emplaced on said unit,

an operable arm carried by the engine, an operating device on the machine unit including a shaft, a lever to turn said shaft, and a moving arm on the shaft detachably interlocked to said operable arm to move the engine when the lever is actuated.

7. In combination, a. machine unit, guide means thereon, an engine comprising a base removably engageable with said guide means so as to be displaced from the machine unit and including a driving pulley, an operable arm carried by the engine, an operating device on the machine unit including a shaft, a lever to turn said shaft, a moving arm on the shaft detachably interlocked to the said operable arm to move the engine when the lever is actuated, a pulley on the machine unit, and a belt to connect said pulleys.

8. In combination, a machine unit, driven mechanism mounted thereon, a readily removable engine on said unit, mounting means on the unit for removably and movably supporting the engine in place thereon, detachable means for drivingly interconnecting the engine to the driven mechanism when the engine is emplaced on said unit, an operable arm carried by the engine, an operating device on the machine unit including a shaft, a lever to turn said shaft, a moving arm on the shaft detachably interlocked to said operable arm to move the engine when the lever is actuated, said operating device including a crank on said shaft, and latch means detachably engageable with said crank to hold the engine stationary respecting the machine unit with the means for drivingly connecting the engine to the driven mechanism in inoperative condition, and said latch means being otherwise engageable with the crank aforesaid to hold the engine in condition wherein the detachable means for drivingly connecting the engine to the driven unit is in operative driving condition.

EARL H. ENSINGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,328,110 Wilson Jan. 13, 1920 1,488,617 Robinson Apr. 1, 1924 1,629,918 Kastler May 24, 1927 2,089,381 Kassing Aug. 10, 1937 

